Zootaxa 3722 (3): 333–346 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2013 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3722.3.3 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CDC8D258-8F57-41DC-B560-247E17D3DC8C
A new species of Acanthodactylus Fitzinger 1834 (Sauria: Lacertidae) from southern Iran
NASTARAN HEIDARI1, NASRULLAH RASTEGAR POUYANI1, ESKANDAR RASTEGAR-POUYANI2 & MEHDI RAJABIZADEH3,4 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, 6714967346 Kermanshah, Iran. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 2Department of Biology, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran. E-mail: [email protected] 3Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium 4Department of Biodiversity, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran.
Abstract
A new and distinctive species of lacertid genus Acanthodactylus Fitzinger, 1834 is described from 7 km east of Khamir Port, Hormozgan Province, southern Iran at an elevation of 30–40m above sea level (asl). Analyses of morphological char- acters and the comparison with other formerly known species of this genus have proven the status of this taxon as a new, distinct species. Combinations of scalation characters and distinct morphology, coloration and habitat peculiarities in cal- careous mountains distinguish Acanthodactylus khamirensis sp.nov from all remaining species of the genus in the area. In order to show the validity of the new species, we carried out a comparative statistical analysis using 13 metric and six meristic morphological characters on all of the neighboring congeners of the new species using descriptive (one-way ANOVA) as well as multivariate analyses (PCA and DFA). The results confirm the specific status of the new taxon. De- tailed information and an updated identification key for the genus Acanthodactylus in Iran are presented.
Key words: Lacertidae, Acanthodactylus, A. khamirensis, Morphology, PCA, DFA, Hormozgan, Iran
Introduction
The family Lacertidae Öppel, 1811 encompasses approximately 280 species widely distributed in Eurasia and Africa (Arnold et al. 2007). Nine genera and 38 species of lacertid lizards occur in Iran (Rastegar Pouyani et al. 2008). One of these genera is Acanthodactylus Fitzinger 1834, which is Saharo-Sindian in its distribution (Anderson, 1999). More than 40 species of the genus Acanthodactylus are currently recognized that are mostly occurring in the Middle East, North Africa, or both (EMBL Reptile Dtabase, 2013). Of these, six species have been documented for Iran (Rastegar-Pouyani, 2003): Acanthodactylus blanfordi Boulenger, 1918, A. boskianus (Daudin, 1802); A. grandis Boulenger, 1909; A. micropholis Blanford, 1874; A. nilsoni Rastegar-Pouyani, 1998 and A. schmidti Haas, 1957. Several new species of the genus Acanthodactylus have recently been described (Arnold 1983, 1986b, 1986c; Geniez & Foucart, 1995; Rastegar-Pouyani, 1998; Baran et al. 2005; Trape et al. 2012). The genus Acanthodactylus has been studied in different aspects of biology so far. Some of theses studies include the seasonal differences in metabolic rate in Acanthodactylus boskianus for adaptation to staying active in harsh seasons (Zari, 1996), analysis femoral gland secretions in different sexes and different ages in Acanthodactylus boskianus (Khannoon et al. 2011), and considering hepatotoxicity and liver pathology in Acanthodactylus scutellatus in gas and oil fields pollutant areas (Al-Hashem, 2011). Attractiveness of the genus in biological studies seems to be due to the presence of great diversity in its morphology, phylogeny, behavior and ecology. Complex relationships either inter or intraspecific, make this genus an appropriate case study for understanding evolutionary patterns. Lacertid lizards of the genus Acanthodactylus Fitzinger, 1834 inhabit dry and desert zones of North Africa and southwest Asia. The most comprehensive studies on the genus in a time sequence are Boulenger (1921),
Accepted by S. Carranza: 29 Sept. 2013; published: 23 Oct. 2013 333